Fire and Metal
by FaiTheDemon
Summary: Being sent on a mission together, they begin to realize their feelings. Through hurt, triumph, and a lot of Hughes' humor, will Roy and Edward ever confess to eachother? Fullmetal alchemist Yaoi fanfic. Currently rated T, but may change to M.
1. Fire and Metal

**Kyaaaah, hello all! I usually never upload fanfiction because I have a problem with not finishing things...but considering it's summer for me, and I have a lot of free time and a big idea for this, I _hopefully _will! As long as you guys keep reading and reviewing! Thanks so much. I really hope my creative juices don't fail me. Also, I don't own FMA, sadly. :c I hope this first chapter isn't too boring and short, I'll eventually make it longer...eventually.**

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****The war was still going on, but you could never tell with the livelihood of Central City, which was not only the governments throne city of Amestris, but also a bustling metropolis of shops and diners. One of the largest buildings of Central was Central Command Headquaters itself, and if you looked inside, you could find a slightly irrated Edward Elric. Who had been resting in the middle of the hallway, on a bench, _again_, when Riza Hawkeye had oh so 'formally' shouted, " Edward Elric, Sir!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Edward replied in a long, droned out, groggy voice as he sat up. His golden blonde hair was messy, and when he realized this he frowned. In one swift, experienced move, he untied his braid, shook his hair free of the hair tie, and then quickly began to re braid it. Riza, who despite her rank, was much older than the Fullmetal Alchemist, frowned slightly at the disrespectfulness of his tone, but continued to keep her composure. "Colonel Roy Mustang requests you in his office, Sir."

Edward yawned as he approached the Colonels door. What does he want this time, to make more short jokes? Edward cringed at the thought. He turned around as he put his gloved metal hand on the doorknob and almost made a comment when he realized his brother, Alphonse, wasn't behind him like he usually was. A few weeks ago, Edward had sent Al to resembool to visit Winry and Pinako. Edward sighed, he missed his brother, even if it was only for a few weeks, but he supposed Winry deserved the visit.

"Ah, there you are Fullmetal." Roy stated as Ed walked into his office. In front of the Colonel's desk stood Hughes, Fuery, and Havoc, who all turned around and greeted Edward with their usual warm smiles. "What is it this time, Colonel bastard?" Ed smirked and took his spot next to Hughes, who had already pulled out his wallet and was about to show off his newest pictures of Elicia. Roy cleared his throat, "Ahem. Well, as you may have guessed, we've been given another mission." Hughes looked devastated. "OH NO! Now I'll have to leave my Gracia! And oh-no! MY ELICIA! SHE'LL BE ALL-"

"Hughes! You already knew about this! And besides! It's only for a week. SHE WILL BE FINE." Roy interrupted impatiently as he put a gloved hand on his throbbing head. "Besides, I'm sure both Gracia and Elicia _need _a break from you..." Mustang mumbled. Hughes was weeping in the corner.

"Can you just get to the point?" Edward groaned, he was already grumpy from being woken up from his nap, this drama was the last thing he needed. Roy nodded sternly once, "We have to go to the city of Credlema, we need to investigate. There is a man there by the name of Adalric Krause, he is said to be famous for selling exotic pets and animals..." Roy paused as he shuffled through some paperwork on his desk. "...And, Sir?" Fuery spoke up quietly. Roy stood up as he shoved the neatly stacked papers into a drawer. "Well, we will see. We leave tomorrow morning. Meet at the station, 7 sharp. Be there." He responded."Sir, Yes, Sir." Everyone, except Ed, said at once, their voices echoed through the office even as they left.

The train made a quick jolt as it started up. Due to safety reasons, Havoc, Fuery, Roy, Hughes, and Ed were split up into pairs or groups and sent on different trains. Havoc was with Fuery, and Hughes was with Edward and Roy. Edward laid his cheek on the cool glass of the trains window and closed his eyes. The alchemist had many specialties, and sleeping on trains was one of them...unless Hughes was involved. "Edward! Roy! My two favorite Alchemists! We are going to have sooooo much fun! I'll show you all sorts of pictures of Elicia!" Hughes had already begun his rampage. "Hughes...Please. It's too early for this." Roy frowned, almost seemingly begging, though he wouldn't have stooped that low. "Fine Fine...Though you're missing out! I'm sure Ed wants to see them, Don't yo-"

"No, Thanks." Edward said in an aggravated tone as he lifted his head up, looked at Hughes, and then tiredly let his head lean back onto the cool glass as he closed his eyes. Roy glanced at the younger alchemist, he really needs to learn to get more sleep at night, then he probably wouldn't be so short tempered all the time, he thought. He watched as strands of the blonds hair fell over his face and glistened in the morning sun. Suddenly Roy felt a slight kick on his foot. He looked at Hughes, who made kissy faces at Roy in mockery. Roy made a disgusted look at his friend. Him and Ed? HA! no. Hughes is out of his mind. Then again...when isn't he out of his mind. Maes Hughes just laughed.

Hours had passed before the train finally came to an abrupt stop. Edward jolted awake as Mustang lightly touched him on his shoulder. "C'mon Fullmetal. Get up." Edward looked at Roy, and then Hughes, who was scrambling to put pictures of his daughter back into his wallet. Roy must have had to suffer. Edward smiled at the thought.

"AAAAAH! A bed!" Edward sighed happily as he collapse on the bed of the inn they were staying in. The rooms were small but cozy with two beds to a room, a bathroom, and a simple desk in the corner. Roy sat on his bed which was directly across from Edwards. "You've been sleeping all day, Fullmetal. We need you to actually be awake for our mission tonight." Roy said sternly as he set his small bag down next to his foot on the floor and looked at the blond. "Yah Yah, can we at least eat first?" Edwards stomach growled as if it was on cue, mustang smirked as he stood up to leave the room, The Fullmetal Alchemist eagerly followed behind him.


	2. Darkness and Silence

**EDIT EDIT EDIT OHMIGAWD : Okay, so I hope my current readers who have already read this chapter see this, but I accidently~ uploaded only half the chapter. How that happens, I've not idea. x'D Anyways, please reread or you will be sincerely lost. Thanks! And sorry! ...again.**

**A/N:**

**Woah guys, thank you so much! I wasn't expecting to have so many people add this to their favorites/watchlist already. I'm not even very confident in it, I haven't written anything decent in ages! I've already got a couple of comments and I want to think both Inumimi1 and bunnynohoogle for those. C: Also, Inumimi, it's kind of an AU yes, but not exactly. To be honest, I just couldn't bring myself to have Hughes dead...and I really like his humor. As for Alphonse, I haven't really decided if he is in his real body or if he is armor yet. I'm pretty sure it's Armor though. Fanfiction will be fanfiction, and sometimes it doesn't make any sense. Thanks for being patient with me!**

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It was almost midnight, and darkness was laying itself over Credlema as if it was a thick, wool blanket on a cold winters day. The officers were being as quiet as they could as they crept through the small city, and made their way to a large, crumbling, stone building. At first glance the building seemed abandoned, a normal person wouldn't pay any attention to it and would simply go on their way. That was far from true for Edward, Roy, Hughes, Havoc, and Fuery, though, because they all knew _something, _if anything, was haunting itself behind those heavy 'abandoned' stone doors. It was almost nostalgic for Edward, as it strangely reminded him of laboratory 5 and the horrors that it had lead him and Alphonse to face, but he tried not to think on it too hard.

The officers circled around the building in search of an entrance. It could have been a hole in the wall, an open window, anything, but it seemed that the alchemists had no such luck. In frustration Edward groaned heavily. "Dammit! Can't we just MAKE an entrance?" He crossed his arms impatiently. The Flame Alchemist was half tempted to slap him. "HUSH, Fullmetal! And for the last time, No. That would just give us away. Despite your height I thought you'd be smart enough to know that!"

Before Edward Elric had a chance to yell one of his many short rants back in protest, Kain Fuery spoke up quietly. "Er- Sir. I think I found it." And with that everyone turned around, right under where Fuery was standing was a wooden door with a rusted handle, it was hidden beneath the overgrown, unwatered grass. This was their chance. Fortunately, the hidden door was already unlocked, which, even if it wasn't, wouldn't have been a very big problem for any of these alchemists.

Beneath the trap door was unsteady cement stairs. Roy lit a little flame so they could see as he lead the way down. It was pitch black, even more so than it was outside. It smelled like mold and sulfur, which all in itself was already a sign that something really was going on. The stairs seemed to never end, they had to have been pretty deep underground now. As they continued to decline the smells only got stronger and stronger. By the time they had reached the bottom, all of the alchemists were covering their noses in disgust. "There is something here, no doubt." Hughes stated, and Roy nodded in agreement as he wandered around with his little flame in investigation.

"Ah..." He paused. "Look, tunnels." The small but powerful flame lit up an entire wall, where, as stated, showed very dark and very long tunnels. There was two of them. Meaning, dangerous or not, they were going to have to split up. "Havoc, Fuery, Team up. Edward, Maes, and I will go to the right. You go to the left. I trust that Havoc has a lighter on him so you two can see." Roy stated as he glanced at Havoc who pulled out a lighter and smiled. Roy nodded once.

The tunnel was long and narrow and seemed to never end, just like the stairs that lead them to this mess. There was no source of an end, no light, no sound, nothing. It was just darkness and silence. The only thing that could be heard was footsteps. Left, right, left, right, pause.

"Do you smell that?" Edward whispered quietly. Roy and Hughes both paused to take a whiff of the thick air around them. The smell of chemicals did seem to die down, but there was something else now...something...sweet?

"It smells like cake." Maes Hughes almost sounded enthusiastic when he said it, but it only struck worry into all three of them. "Someone must be close by then...and they're baking cake." Roy said almost humorously. The three alchemists continued their trudge towards the source of the smell, Mustang dimmed his flame a little just in case. About ten more minutes had passed when a soft humming of what sounded like a lullaby could be heard. Roy, Hughes, and Edward stopped to listen. Oh yeah, they were definitely close now.

Roy extinguished his flame quickly. There was no exit to the tunnel, but the cake smell grew stronger as well did the soft humming sound. Suddenly, there was a scream.

Bricks came falling down, dust filled the air. The darkness was already thick but debris and other matter had begun to make it thicker. Crash, boom, crash, crumble. Screams of terror and loud clashes could be heard. Edward was on the ground along with Roy, they were covering their heads in protection for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was only a few seconds. The tunnel had just collapsed. Silence fell, except for the soft humming of a sweet song that could still be heard only feet away.


	3. Cake and Blood

**EXTREMELY IMPORTANT A/N: Alright. So I'm hoping that most of you have found out by now, but I made a HUGE mistake on the last chapter. It only uploaded half of it, so if you haven't gone back and read it, please do. Or you will be really confused. Thank you for being patient with me...again! I hope that you all continue to enjoy this. To be honest, I've no idea where it is going to go, fanfiction tends to have a mind of it's own! Let's just hope that it doesn't fail me. Thank you again!**

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_You may notice certain things before you die._

_Mail them to me should they cause_

_your algebra to fail._

_Cole and Macey lost their eyes_

_on the finer points_

_roll them up in coffee cake and dine._

The haunting melody hummed through the crumbling tunnels like a thick morning fog, but other than that it was unnervingly silent. The smell of sweet cake mixed with dust, chemicals, and various other debris traveled through the corridor, making the tune seem even more haunting and dangerous.

"Is...Is everyone alright?" A familiar voice questioned quietly in a crackling, crumbling tone that resembled the walls that had just crashed down upon them. Roy's fire had been extinguished, but replacing it was an even brighter light coming from just down another small tunnel that could be seen through a newly found hole in the wall. "I'm alive...Hughes?" a certain blond alchemist questioned as he very slowly stood up and brushed himself off. All limbs, metal and flesh, were attached, everything was as good as it could get.

Next to him could be seen Roy, who not only also seemed fine, but was already very carefully investigating the newly found hole in the wall. "I'm fine! But we seem to have been separated!" Hughes' voice traveled from the other side of a barrier created by the rubble and destruction that had just occurred, which was now separating the three. "Do you see anything new?" He questioned.

"Yeah, and if I'm guessing right, we have finally found the cake." Roy replied slightly quieter, unsure if whoever was in the room just feet away could hear their conversation. "Go find Havoc and Fuery, Ed and I will be fine for now." And with that, the footsteps of Maes Hughes were heard trailing off.

_You may notice certain things before you die._

_Mail them to me should they cause_

_your algebra to fail._

_Cole and Macey lost their eyes_

_on the finer points_

_roll them up in coffee cake and dine._

The haunting melody repeated itself through the tunnel and grew louder as both Roy and Edward quietly made their way to the source of the light as insidiously as they could. Once at the door, Edward poked his head around the corner. Inside of the room could be seen a rather wimpy looking man. He had to have been only slightly taller than Edward, but he was definitely a lot skinnier. If it wasn't for the thick clothing he wore along with his long disheveled greying hair and beard, you'd probably think he was a living skeleton. Over his many layers of rather dirty clothing, he was wearing a large pink apron that had a large bow in the back. He turned around, only to see the Fullmetal Alchemist and the Flame Alchemist staring at him.

"Oh, I thought we had guests! Look, Arwen! Visitors!" The man announced excitedly as he clapped his hands together and leaned back to look at a large metal cage that was hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room. Inside, was a rather large bird. It was green, with hints of blue and purple tail feathers. "Guests! Guests!" The bird shouted, it's voice was loud and croaky, not a very pleasant thing to hear.

"Welcome! Welcome! Oh it's been ages since I've had guests! May I offer you some tea? Oh! Look the cake is almost done as well!" The man halfway tripped over himself as leaned over to an old, decrepit oven and pulled out an extremely burned cake. In fact, if it wasn't for the man saying it was cake, you would have never been able to have guessed. He set it in the center of a wobbly, wooden table and the placed 3 dirty mugs next to it.

"Ahem. No, we are fine, thank you." Roy interrupted. "Would you mind telling us exactly who you are?" Mustang stepped into the small room and Edward followed behind him. Taking a closer look at the room, it was obvious it had not been cleaned in ages. There was pots and pans all over the floor and sink, and a thick, oozing green slime that covered the cabinets, counters, and some of the floor. Not only that, but the smell was awful. It smelled like animal feces and burnt cake now, which, I don't know if you know, isn't a very pleasant combination.

"Oh! My apologies! I haven't had visitors in so long that I-" Suddenly there was another crash as the room shook, and several filthy glass plates and mugs fell out off a top cabinet, breaking as they hit the ground. "Oh, darn! Again!" without realization Edward had leaned slightly on Roy for support as the building trembled. Roy looked down at the shorty, and once Ed realized this he stood up straight as quickly as possible and tried to pretend it never happened.

"I'm very sorry about this," The man sighed, "The building is getting so old...It'll...probably collapse on me any day now. Anywho. My name is Adalric Krause!"

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"So, you raise exotic pets and animals?" Edward questioned.

"Yes." Adalric replied with uncertainty.

"May we see them?" Roy said, though it didn't sound like much of a question but more of an order.

"No!" The timid man paused. "I mean-...They don't like to be around people much. Aside from me they haven't seen any humans in ages..." Adalric tugged on a loose thread coming from his apron. He wasn't looking at either of the alchemists and focused all his attention on the thread. Edward and Roy simply watched him. They were sitting at the wobbly wooden table, the untouched cake and the mugs were still in the center of it, and above them Arwen the bird sat unusually quiet in his cage. Edward suddenly stood up. "Colonel, we aren't getting anywhere with this! This guy is obviously suspicious! I mean, just look at him!" Krause frowned and with a shaky hand covered his face, he began to slowly rock back and forth. "I...I just don't do very well with...with people."

"People! People!" Arwen chirped loudly. "People, People!" He repeated again, even louder. Suddenly loud, hard stomping noises came from another room. Directly across from where Roy and Ed first entered there was a door that seemed like it lead to a closet. It suddenly slammed open, and in the entrance Maes, Havoc, Fuery, and a lady with dark brown hair stood. The lady was tied up. Her wrists were bruised from the chains used. she was gagged and blindfolded. She had to have only been around 18 or 20. "Finally." Roy stood up and walked towards them. Edward looked at him in confusion. "Damn bastard! You didn't tell me we were just stalling!" He raged. Mustang rolled his eyes, "I thought you'd be smart enough to figure that out, Fullmetal." The gagged woman was crying and screaming. She had old, dry, crusted blood staining her clothes and skin. There were dark circles and bruises under her eyes, causing her to appear older than she actually was. She dropped down to the floor as Havoc let her go, Edward rushed down to her and began to untie the gags and chains. Hughes kneeled down to inspect her wounds and the blood closely. "Damn bastard, what are you hiding?" Edward jerked his head back to look at Adalric who was trembling impulsively and ripping out chunks of his hair like a madman. Tears streaked his face as he screamed something incoherent, and Arwen The Bird flapped his wings vigorously, causing his cage to rattle back and forth. Edward quickly stood up to follow Havoc and Roy out of the room. The door led to a long narrow hallway with several other rooms connected to it. Despite that, it was obvious where they had found the woman due to a trail of blood left behind. The door was already wide opened, screams of children, women, and men echoed through it and rang in Edwards ears. Howling from what sounded like dogs and wolves were heard, along with the hissing and roaring of everything from house cats to mountain lions.

Upon entrance to the room was pure terror. The young Elric froze in his tracks, images of the night he attempted to bring his mother back flashed in his mind. His breathing grew unsteady as small droplets of sweat formed on his forehead. He leaned against the nearest wall. He didn't blink, he couldn't. He just stood there in mental distress, witnessing nothing but blood, flesh, screams, people, and animals all at once. It was a madhouse, this was, and despite everything that Edward had already witnessed and been through, it was difficult to bear.

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**A/N...again: I don't own FMA or any of it's characters. Neither do I own the song that I used for this chapter. It's called Your Algebra by The Shins. When I first heard it, I thought it was waaay to perfect. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had some fun writing it!**


	4. Tears and Nightmares

**A/N: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of it's characters. I simply adore the series and the idea of Roy and Ed. Thanks everyone for your kind feedback! I wasn't expecting it. I hope that this chapter doesn't let you down...;u; or, well, maybe it will. I don't know.**

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"So, you've found me out." Adalric Krause's voice echoed heavily throughout his laboratory. Thick, dark, red blood covered the floor of the room. Heavy metal cages lined every inch of the walls. They were even stacked on top of each other, there wasn't a space wasted. Inside a few of the cages there were people. Real, Live, People. Some of them were sleeping, most of them were awake, and a lot of them appeared to have been dead. In a few other cages were tigers, lions, wolves, and other large animals. They all hissed, roared, and barked at the commotion. It wasn't that they were hostile, they were simply terrified. In one large cage in the center of the room stood a chimera. A creature that had been created from both a human and an animal. It had lost all of it's senses, it was helpless, just like a certain little girl and her dog that Edward Elric had known long ago.

"You...asshole. You bastard!" Coming back to his senses the Fullmetal Alchemist briskly changed his automail arm into a blade, a technique that he used often, one that his mechanic highly disapproved of. In pure animosity he rushed toward Krause. Using his blade he attempted to strike the mans throat. He was going to kill him. He had to kill him. For Nina, it had to be for Nina. He needed to save Nina...

But Krause was too fast. As he flipped over him, he dodged the blonds attack. The man was laughing maniacally, "You really think that will get me, You think you can KILL me? Haha! HAH!" he barked. This was not the quiet, timid man they had met less than an hour ago. "Alchemist's are such silly silly creatures! They are all hypocrites, too! Oh! Let's have fun! Let's play! Let us dance!" He chirped as he began to sing his haunting tune yet again.

_You may notice certain things before you die._

_Mail them to me should they cause_

_your algebra to fail._

_Cole and Macey lost their eyes_

_on the finer points_

_roll them up in coffee cake and dine_

The scene was simply a blur. They flipped, they rolled, they dodged, and they striked, both attempting to kill each other. Both of them had loud, maniacal looks on their faces. Roy, who is usually very calm and on the move in these situations, couldn't do anything but watch. Has Edward really become like this, he thought, had he already seen so much that it's traumatized him into becoming a murderer?

Just as the Flame Alchemist was about to revoke that thought there was another howl.

The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, The youngest state alchemist there was, was on the ground in the center of a pool of blood. His blood. His hair, His clothes, his skin was stained with his own blood. He was practically drowning in it. He cringed as Adalric dug a knife deeper into his chest. Edward cried out loudly, "P-please, R-roy! Help!" but there was nothing. Tears streaked the young alchemist's face as he looked up at Roy, who looked abnormally helpless as the blade was being dug deeper and deeper.

And just like that, Edward Elric was dead.

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"Sir? Sir? Wake up." Riza's calm voice pronounced quietly. She was almost like a mother at times, and even in the worst situations could make you feel better again. Roy glanced at her before he sat up and covered his eyes with his hands. It was almost as if he was a little kid in this situation, helpless and scared, though he tried to camouflage it. "It was only a dream." He reassured himself. Riza nodded. When he had looked at her he seemed like the most helpless being in the world. His eyes were dark and glossy as if he'd been crying, he was someone that Riza wanted to protect, especially in these odd occasions.

To be quite honest, Riza had no idea what his nightmare was about, however it seemed to be reoccuring quite often for the past couple of weeks. She didn't want to ask, she figured that if he wanted her to know, he would tell her. So every night around 2 AM she'd return outside his door. Once she heard a scream she knew it was okay to enter and comfort him. She felt sick to her stomach each time it occurred, however, for she got a delerious, twisted, joy out of seeing him in such a helpless state. Especially at this hour, Especially in Mustang's private quarters.

Droplets of sweat formed on the mans forehead as he recalled the nightmare. Blood, Screaming, Chimeras, and...Edward. Why the hell was he dreaming of Edward? Especially him dying, for gods sake. And why in the world did it bother him to this extent?

It's true that he did indeed look after the older Elric and protected him greatly, but the fact that a dream of the boy's death alarmed him this intensely confused him. He knew that the kid would be fine, he had his brother, and as long as that was true he wouldn't have a choice but to live on. Roy sighed heavily.

"What time is it?" He inquired listlessly and rested his head on his knee as he closed his eyes. "3 AM, sir" Riza acknowledged."Please try to get more sleep before you must wake up. You seem to have a lack of it, these days." She turned to leave his dark room, however as she put her hand on the doorknob Roy spoke up.

"Is...Fullmetal still here?" His voice was low, as if he wasn't directing the question at his subordinate at all, it was almost as if he was asking himself. Riza hesitated. That was an odd question...since when did Roy Mustang care if Edward Elric was in central at 3 AM in the morning? "Edward and Alphonse are still in Central, Sir, however I feel they are departing soon." The flame alchemist let out a soft, pitiful noise that almost sounded like a small groan. Riza opened the door and left, shutting it softly behind her and leaving Roy Mustang alone in the dark yet again.


	5. Lockdowns and Butterflies

**A/N: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Or any of it's games, movies, or soundtracks. I don't even own the characters. Because if I did, Edward, Roy, and I would be in one crazy love triangle. Srsly.**

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It had been an odd week at Central. It was busier than normal, and it seemed that nobody ever went home. Which, amusingly, was actually pretty true. Most officers had been requested to sleep in bunks at the Central Command headquarters in case of an emergency mission, but to be quite honest hardly anyone knew exactly what this meant. Yes, it was dangerous for all state alchemist's right now. Because of Scar, The homunculus, and other, unneeded enemies, but was it really that dangerous that the officers couldn't even return to their homes? In the usually quiet and barren hallways stood military men on guard. They stood up straight, in a line, against the walls, ready to take any order given to them. This was something that made Edward Elric highly uncomfortable.

However it wasn't only that that made him uncomfortable, it was also the fact that he wasn't allowed to leave. He needed to get on the move, to get on a train and go somewhere. Anywhere. He needed to find out how to get the bodies of him and his brother back. Actually, the reason he was so uptight may have just been that he wasn't used to staying in one place for so long. Even in such a large building, it made him feel like he was trapped. He paced back and forth at the thought.

With his non-metal hand he tugged at the end of his braid. Step, One, Two, Step, One, Two. He counted as he went in circles, his heavy boots making a thumping noise with each step.

"Ed." A soft, hallow voice spoke up. "Hey...Brother?" Alphonse spoke again, but he was bluntly ignored by the older brother who continued to pace uncomfortably, that is, before he suddenly hit the giant hunk of metal.

"Hey, Al, what was that for?" Edward complained in his usual fiery tone, though it had an extra hint of agitation as of late. "You weren't listening to me!" Alphonse countered, "It was the only way I could get your attention..." The armor backed up and noisily sat down on a bench in the hallway they were in. Next to the bench was one of the many officers on duty, who despite their apparent ignorance of the scene, was listening to every word of it. It was probably the most entertainment the officers would get all day in this bland corridor.

"Well, what is it, Al?" The blond sat next to his brother and rested his cheek on his metal hand. He looked up at him, the boredom showing brightly on his face and in his golden eyes. Alphonse simply shrugged. "I just don't want you to worry brother. We are here for a reason...and if that means it'll take slightly longer to get our bodies back then I don't care. I mean...not that we really have a choice right now." Edward laughed. "Yeah, I know, but I'm just sick and tired of being here! I can't even go outside without someone watching me 24/7! We were supposed to be able to leave in only a couple of days, too! And not only that, but the Colonel-"

"What about the Colonel?" A familiar voice teased. Ah, Roy mustang himself. Just great, Edward thought as he sat up straighter and shot a glare at the older man.

"Oh, there is the bastard. Mind explaining to me why we can't leave?" The blond crossed his arms, the glare still clear as day on his face. As he examined Mustang he noticed an odd look on his face. He seemed tired as soft, dark circles lined under his eyes. His hair was messier than usual, and his uniform hardly seemed up to standards, it was wrinkled and crooked, though upon noticing it, Roy began to straighten it.

"You know as well as I do, Fullmetal." He began harshly, but then paused and gave a soft, warm look to the younger boy, staring deep into his seemingly perfect and beautiful golden eyes. Eyes that had already been to the depths of Hell. Edward squinted at him, what in the world was Mustang trying to pull today? He was acting strangely lenient as of late.

The Flame Alchemist cleared his throat and tried to release the tension that he was unintentionally creating. "I'll be in my office if you happen to need me." His voice rang in Edward ears, soft footsteps fading down the hall as the Colonel vanished. What was going on with him? First he insults me, Ed thought, then he looks at me as if...Edward stopped in his tracks. As if what? He was looking at me as if what? Edward dismissed the thought and Al shifted awkwardly as he stared at his brother. After a deep, 30-second pause, the older brother looked at the younger. "What?" Edward frowned.

"It's nothing, brother." Alphonse let out a soft, childish giggle that made Edward think he knew something that he didn't. However, he didn't question it, stood up, and began walking to the military's cafeteria.

* * *

"You needed me, sir?" Riza Hawkeye spoke firmly as she stood in front of Mustang's desk. Roy was leaning back with his arms rested on the sides of his over sized desk chair. His eyes were closed as if he was sleeping, but Riza knew this look. It meant that he was thinking intently, and whatever it was, it seemed to be agitating him.

"Yes..." Mustang paused as he opened his eyes and leaned forward onto his desk. He hadn't made eye contact with his subordinate since she entered, and intently stared down at his unfinished, endless stacks of paperwork. He was almost tempted to take a flame to them. His mind was too boggled to do any work today, with the 'lockdown', the work, the nightmares, and...That damned Fullmetal Alchemist! He smashed his fists down onto his desk. "I don't know what to do Riza!" He loudly declared in anger as he stood up and looked at Hawkeye.

"He's there! He is always right there! And everytime he's there I..." Mustang got quieter as he sat back down in his chair. Riza hushed him. She understood now. She knew exactly why Roy had been acting so strange, She knew exactly who The Flame Alchemist was having a breakdown over. Nevertheless, there was a part of her deep in her heart that didn't want to acknowledge it and another part that didn't want to do anything but help him with the matter.

"I understand." Her voice was calm, yet it almost seemed broken. Roy looked up at her. He knew that it hurt her, he knew that she had been in love with him since the very beginning, but he also knew that she knew that he could never return the feelings. He had told her before, "You're like my sister." and Riza had never forgotten it, she couldn't. The sentence echoed through her mind each day, each time she saw him. Ever since then she backed off, tried to find someone else, and continued to be that sisterly figure that Roy cared for.

It wasn't just the fact that Roy couldn't get Edward out of his mind, it was also the age difference. He had began to fall for someone less than half his age, and a man nonetheless. He was a womanizer indeed. He'd go on 5 different dates a week, just to get his fix, but it never seemed like enough. There was also something missing, a gap somewhere...

And a couple of weeks ago he realized it. Edward had stormed into his office, furious over something dumb yet again. The blond stood right in front of his desk, demanding answers, yelling sentences, and getting all hot-headed like he usually does. But Roy did nothing but listen. He didn't even know what the boy was saying, but there was something about him that had intrigued him that day. He listened to the boy's voice. Though he was yelling some kind of rash, unnecessary rant, his voice seemed to comfort Roy. When the Elric had noticed that Mustang wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying, he stormed out of the room. Mustang watched him leave, the warm, comforting feeling he got when he was here vanished, but he had caught something as the Fullmetal Alchemist turned away. Despite the immature, frenzied tirade that had just befallen, he noticed that Edward was maturing. Not just in height, but in his face, in his shoulders, in his voice, his eyes, his personality, everything. There was something about Edward ever since that day that captivated him and he had yet to let it go.

Day after day he had thought about Edward. He replayed the scene of that day in his head, and every time he saw the young alchemist the feelings of warmth and comfort returned, along with the nervousness of butterflies in his stomach that he never seemed to experience with anyone else.

And then the nightmares started happening.

He always knew that Edward was taking a risk trying to get his brother's body back, but now that he had somehow grown accustomed to the boy he didn't want Ed to take that risk anymore. He just wanted to embrace the younger alchemist in his arms. Let him know that it's okay. He wanted to feel his skin on his, his lips on his...

"Sir." Riza interrupted his thoughts and Roy snapped out of it. He looked up at her, "You're dismissed." She seemed taken aback buy the sudden dismissal, and after a brief pause she nodded and left, closing the heavy office door behind her. Roy sat in silence for minutes as he recollected his thoughts and sighed heavily. Tomorrow, he thought, Something is going to be done about this.

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**A/N: I'm really sorry if this chapter was too slow, but it was bound to come. Hopefully, _hopefully, _things will start pacing up a bit again. I'm running out of ideas! My brain is failing me! Help!**

**oh well, I will make it good again...eventually. Thanks for reading! Oh, and thank you everyone for your nice feedback!**


	6. Kisses and Kidnappings

**A/N: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, or any of it's characters. However, I wish I did.**

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The Flame Alchemist closed his eyes as he splashed cool water onto his face. He looked in the mirror, God he looked awful. His hair was a tangled mess, He looked like he hadn't had sleep for days, and not only that but he needed to shave. He narrowed his eyebrows as he comprehended this. How was he going to go through with his plan in such a disheveled state? He was only halfway dressed, wearing only his pants and the white undershirt of his uniform as he began to make himself look somewhat presentable. The light in the bathroom was dim and flickered every now and then. The military really needed to invest in some new light bulbs, as it seemed a lot of them have been going out lately.

Leaving the bathroom Roy grabbed his gloves and hurriedly shoved them into his pockets. Swiftly he turned around to survey his neatly organized room once more. Taking a deep breath, he left. This was it. He was going to do it. He needed to go through with his plan and confront Edward Elric...

The hallway seemed abnormally empty. The military men that had been hovering there for the past couple of weeks were gone. There were no eyes to watch Mustang as he left his quarters, there wasn't even anyone to ask him for his military ID. Suddenly, a realization hit the Colonel. No guards meant the lock down was over, meaning that Edward had probably already left to go somewhere.

"Shit." He mumbled and began to stride faster towards the cafeteria. If Edward was still here, then he would definitely be stuffing his face right now. There was a very low chance that he was still present however. In all likelihood., the alchemist was most likely so tired of this place he probably even skipped breakfast just to hitch a train and get out of here as quickly as possible. Mustang was deep in his thoughts about what he was going to do if Edward was there, that he didn't even realize he ran right into Havoc. "Wooooah, Colonel, going somewhere?" Havoc smiled jokingly, but the playfulness of his expression faded when he saw just how stressed The Flame Alchemist looked. "Where is Edward?"

"Elric? He left just a few minutes ago to the train station, why?" Havoc tilted his head slightly, this was unusual. The Colonel never really asked where Edward was unless it was an important mission or a life or death situation, which, judging by Mustang's lack of sleep, it might as well have been. "No time." He replied quickly, and with that, he was off.

Without even realizing it, Mustang had begun to run. He ran right out of Central Headquarters, ignoring the stares and confused looks he got as he did. He ran downtown, passing shops and diners full of families who watched him through windows. He didn't even realize he was running. He just knew that he had to see Edward. He needed to see him before he left, even if it was just an awkward 'goodbye'. If he didn't do it he felt he would have an even more difficult time sleeping and concentrating on his work. The heavy thumping of his footsteps began to slow down as he drew closer to the train station, and he searched hastily for a short, blond alchemist with a flaming red coat and a giant suit of armor right by his side. This shouldn't be hard to find.

And he was right. Right near the train was the Fullmetal Alchemist holding his usual brown suitcase. His brother wasn't with him, strangely enough, he had probably gone to make a phone call or something last minute. Before he knew that he had even begun walking towards the shorty, he was right in front of him. Edward blinked.

"Colonel...This is unusual, did something happen?" Edward had gained a worried, yet agitated look on his face as he looked up at the Colonel. The wind blew slightly, causing his golden bangs to get into his eyes. With one hand Ed pushed them out of his face, all of his attention was on Mustang at the moment., whether he liked it or not.

"U-uhm." Mustang began to tremble slightly and choked on his words. This was so unlike him, he was always so calm and composed, so why in the world did this little shrimp make him feel like this? "Well..." Roy began, but then suddenly he was interrupted as Edward turned around and began to walk off. Roy was being so difficult right now. It made Edward slightly uncomfortable for reasons he didn't understand. Ed looked down at the cobblestone ground, his eyes traced the cracks of it and he breathed out deeply. "You're fooling with me, Bastard. I've got a train to catch." He gave a slight wave without facing Roy, however, his hand was suddenly yanked towards the older man.

Without realization or control, Roy's lips were on Edwards. He kissed him very gently at first and pulled him closer. Yes, finally, this was what he had been wanting to do. He needed to let Edward know that he wanted, no, _needed_ him. He dragged his lips along the younger boys as all time seemed to stop. Delightfully, the crowds of people boarding the trains were all too busy to notice. For if they did, this would probably count as rape.

For a moment it almost seemed that Edward was kissing back. Was he...enjoying it? Just as Mustang began to think so, Edward pulled away and out of his grip. The Flame Alchemist attempted to look at him, but before he knew it Edward was already boarding the train. There were no last words, no final actions, nothing. But Roy did know one thing...he was definitely right about the feelings he had towards the older Elric.

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Edward's face was bright pink as he and his brother boarded the train. They sat down on the hard seats. Edward was across from Alphonse, but he didn't look at him. He didn't even look outside the window for the fear that the Colonel would see him. He just sat there and looked down. Down at his shoes, with his light golden hair covering his expression. He couldn't let anyone see him, not a blushing mess like this.

He was so confused and flustered now. What was that bastard trying to pull? He lifted his one metal hand up to his face and covered his eyes. He was still blushing a light shade of pink, and his emotions were going haywire. Did Mustang really just...kiss him? Or really, the question was, did he really just kiss Mustang back? Across from Edward, Alphonse stared at him. "Are you okay, Brother?"

Edward couldn't say anything back so he simply nodded. However, he didn't even know if he was okay. The train jolted and took off, a couple of minutes later Edward lifted his face up and looked out the window. He didn't want to look at his brother, for he could read him like a book.

"Did something happen?" Alphonse tried to ask again, he knew when Edward was troubled, and he didn't like it. Edward looked back at his brother. The blush on his face was still slightly apparent, but it wasn't too noticeable. However, Alphonse noticed, of course. "Come on, Brother, tell me!" he pleaded. He hated it when Edward hid things from him, especially if they bothered his older brother so much.

"Roy came to see me off, that's all. I just thought it was strange." A lie. A flat out lie. That wasn't all that happened, and Alphonse could see that as clear as day on his brothers face. Instead of arguing, though, he just nodded. "That's nice of him. But you're right, it's weird for him to do that." Edward nodded in return.

The blond couldn't stop thinking about the way it had felt. The Colonel had pulled him so close, he could feel his breath on him as their lips met. His stomach churned as he continued to think about it and he bit his own lip gently. It felt like there were butterflies inside of him, he felt so disgusted with himself. A part of him screamed that he had enjoyed it and wanted more, but his mind was so baffled right now that he didn't want to accept that fact. Hell, it had been his first real kiss! And it was with a man! The damned Colonel, nonetheless! He rested his cheek on the glass of the train window and sighed deeply. He tried hard not to think about the kiss anymore.

"It will be fun to see Winry and Pinako, don't you think so brother?" Al tried to relieved the unwanted tension that was bothering Edward. Ed smiled slightly, thankful for his brothers distraction. "Yah, I guess it will. Of course Winry will just be nagging me the entire time, so I don't really see the point." He shrugged. Alphonse giggled, "Well that's Winry for you, but you have to understand that she just cares for you, Brother." Edward smiled. "Yah Yah, I'll try to think of that next time she kills me with a wrench." Both of the boys laughed.

The rest of the train ride was silent. Edward was looking forward to seeing Winry for a couple of days, especially since this time his arm wasn't broken. If it was she would yell at him even more and he would want to leave right away. He loved her, but more like a sister than anything. She was always there for him and Alphonse when they needed her the most, ever since childhood. They would have their rough fights, but it was just like fighting with a sister, and they moved on and grew up and would make up again right away.

It was a lengthy ride, but it passed quickly as Edward had drifted off to sleep, which proved as a fantastic distraction from what had happened with Roy earlier. Alphonse gently shook him to wake him up. "Brother, we're here." He said. Edward sat up straight, looked out the window, and smiled. "Finally!" Picking up his suitcase he and his brother left the train and began their walk to the Rockbell house, which, thankfully, wasn't too far from the train station.

Edward and Alphonse talked and laughed about old childhood memories they had with Winry as they neared the house. The sun was setting, causing a beautiful gleam over the tall grass they walked near on the dirt road. Without warning, Alphonse froze.

"Hey brother...something...doesn't feel right." He mumbled quietly. Edward looked at the house in the distance. His younger brother was right, there was definitely something off about it. He began to pick up his pace as he neared the little house. As they got closer, they noticed clothes, furniture, and other random household items scatted in the front yard. Edward's eyes widened.

The front door was busted along with it's many windows. The gate was wide opened and halfway off it's hinges. Inside, more furniture was scattered .There were broken lamps, tools everywhere, and the curtains were ripped off the windows. In the house there wasn't a soul to be found.. No Winry, No Pinako, nobody. "What's going on, Brother?" Alphonse panicked. Edward had began to run around the house already. Searching closets, cupboards, and every room just for a clue. Whoever did this must have had to leave some kind of clue, because they definitely wanted the Fullmetal Alchemist to find them. And of course that was exactly it.

It was a more obvious clue than Edward had thought it would be. On a single, small, sheet of paper laying on the sofa in the living room that was once so cozy, but now so destroyed, was a messy drawing of the Ouroborus tattoo. The tattoo that all homunculi wore. That wasn't the only thing, however, on the back of the note written in small, scribbled handwriting that said, "Good luck, Fullmetal Pipsqueak!"

Envy. Of course it would be him. He had always been trying to destroy the Elric Brothers, to torture them even further than they had already been tortured. He wanted to crush him to bits. He had Winry and Pinako as bait this time, meaning, wherever the damned homonculus was, Edward Elric was going to find him. And when he did, he swore it would not be pretty.

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**A/N...again: Yay, thank you for reading. I'm trying to start picking up the pace again but I'm sorry if it still seems slow! :c forgive me! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated and motivate me to write more. hehe. **


	7. Reality and Fabrication

**A/N: Oh my gosh, I feel so bad. I haven't uploaded for days, and for that I am sorry! Not only that, but I feel like this chapter didn't live up to standards. ;_; I'm in a huge writers slump. I hope you enjoy, or at least try to, anyways though. Thank you all for reading.**

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Just after arrival back at Central, Edward stormed loudly right into Roy's office. The Fullmetal Alchemist was too furious to even care about the previous encounter he had had with the Colonel, and slammed his fists right down on the older mans desk, who looked up at the younger boy. Was he here to chastise him for kissing him? Or had Fullmetal forgotten about that?

"Envy has them." Edward said in a harsh, serious tone that he only used whenever situations were dire. "Envy has Winry!" The shorty shouted again, this time much louder, for Roy just sat and stared at the boy, gazing at his eyes, his lips, his desperate expression. What was he expected to do about this?

"And how did you come about such a sudden accusation, Fullmetal?" Roy leaned back in his chair and set his hands in his lap. He tilted his head slightly to one side, and continued to stare at Edward, who turned around to look at Alphonse who was standing only a little ways behind him. Even though Al was a suit of armor without the ability to change his expression, you could feel the worry and fear running through him.

It was funny, they had gone out to have a quiet visit with Winry and Pinako in Risembool, and immediately return back to the loud and busy Central to request help from the one man Edward wanted to get away from the most right now. The blond roughly shoved his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the crumpled little note with the ouroborus on the back and the scribbled writing on the front. Roy took the piece of paper and examined it closely. It was definitely from Envy.

"You do realize this is a trap, don't you, Fullmetal?" Roy set the note back down on his desk, yet kept his gaze towards it. This was bad. Edward was going to get himself right in the middle of the Homonculus' trap and get himself killed, just like the dreams that had haunted the Colonel every night.

"Of course I do, you damn Colonel bastard! Do you really think I'm that freaking stupid?" Edward was almost on a rampage now as Alphonse stood quietly in the background. He leaned closer to Mustangs face, almost inches away, and whispered, "But that doesn't matter right now, They have Winry!" He paused and then gave long, stressed sigh, lowering his voice even more, "This is the only time you're ever going to hear me ask this, but...I need your help."

With that, Mustang smirked. "Alright Fullmetal," He stood up as he grabbed his coat off of the back of his oversized desk chair, and slug it around himself to put it on. "I have a pretty good idea of where he is hiding her." Edward's and Alphonse's eyes lit up slightly. They didn't even ask questions, but instead followed Mustang out of his office and into the long narrow hallways of Central Command Headquarters.

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It was a day later when the plan was about to take place. Roy had taken the boys to the far away town of Credlema, the same exact one that had reoccurred throughout his dreams. It was almost midnight as they crept quietly around a large stone building, which, was also very uncomfortably familiar to Roy.

Ed and Al looked for an entrance into the building. They hoped for a hole in the wall or a vent of some sort, but Roy knew that they weren't going to be able to find one. Mustang searched through the thick, dying grass until he found it. It was the same exact door, with the same exact rusted handle that lead down, deep into the earth that he had seen Fuery find in his nightmare.

Roy lit a flame and lead the boys down, down, and down. It was as dark as it was in the dream, and just as smelly. They all covered their noses as they made it to the bottom of the stairs, however they continued to move. Roy knew exactly where he had to take them. He made his flame slightly brighter as he showed them the way through one of the tunnels, the same tunnel that he and Hughes had traveled through in his sleep.

Mustang made sure that Alphonse and Edward were very careful as they walked, and he hoped that the corridor wouldn't come crumbling down on them as it had done to him in the dream. He made his flame dimmer as he came near the area in which he knew Adalric Krause had been baking cake, however this time there wasn't that odd, sweet smell or the eerie humming of the lullaby that had been there before.

It had been almost 20 minutes until they had finally reached the crumbling door that lead them to the mess of a room that Krause had been in. Roy stepped into the room, the pans, the ooze, the cake in the center of the table along with the three mugs, and Arwen the bird chirped in his cage overhead. It was all there. Adalric wasn't however, which was somewhat of a relief to the Flame Alchemist, as he hoped that at least that part of his dream had been myth.

"What is this place...?" Edward asked Mustang, as it seemed that the Colonel was way too familiar with it to simply not know. Roy shook his head softly. Edward narrowed his eyes at the Colonels response but didn't ask anymore questions.

Edward went across the room and over to the door that looked like it could lead to a broom closet, however Mustang knew that it led to a long corridor, full of rooms of Chimera's, People, and other very big, and very wild, animals. Roy gently nudged him to the side and opened the door, and to the Colonel's dismay it was exactly as he had expected it to be. The hallway, the rooms, and even the thin trail of blood that led to one room in particular.

Edward's eyes grew wider as he saw the blood. Oh god, Oh god, what have they done to Winry? His pace picked up and he pushed past Roy, running right to the room with the wide open door and the trail of blood leading towards it.

It was the same that it was in the dream. The blood, the screams, the roars, the cages, everything, and in the center of the room was a rather large cage, with a rather small, familiar, blonde mechanic tied up and locked inside of it.


End file.
